Him that is weak in the faith receive
ye, but not to doubtful disputations.

For one believeth that he may eat all
things: another, who is weak, eats herbs.

Let not him that eats despise him that
eats not; and let not him which eats not judge him that eats: for God hath
received him.

Who are thou that judges another man’s
servant? To his own master he stands or falls.

Yes, he shall be held up: for God is
able to make him stand.

One man esteems one day above another:
another esteems every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own
mind.

He that regards the day, regards it
unto the Lord; and he that regards not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard
it. He that eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he that eats
not, to the Lord he eats not, and gives thanks.

For none of us lives to himself, and no
man dies to himself.

The law of liberty is brought out in
these verses of Scripture. There are gray areas in the Christian life that the
Bible does not identify as sin. Paul identified these as “doubtful things.”
Verse one tells us we are not to argue about doubtful things. We are at liberty
in our own lives to choose for ourselves.

The key to this particular Scripture is
the phrase, “in his own mind,” found in Romans 14:5. You must be firmly
convinced or persuaded in your own mind.

Some Christians do not go to movies.
Others do go to movies, but get into confrontations about which ratings are or
are not acceptable. What offends one person may or may not offend another
person. Often people will say, “God told me,” when defending their position.
But we find out the Bible doesn’t say anything specifically about watching
movies. Some Christians do not own a television. Others may own a television
but are very careful about what they watch. Just like movies, the Bible says
nothing about television.

Some Christians, and many in the world,
look down on those who smoke cigarettes. The Bible says nothing about smoking cigarettes.
(Cigarettes will not send you to hell; they just make you smell like you’ve
been there.)

Some people have very strong views on
what types of foods we should or should not eat. They try to pull out Scripture
to say, “These foods are good for you; these foods are bad for you.” We should
be wise in our food choices, but eating certain types of food is not sin.

Next is the drinking of wine. This
seems to be a geographical sin. I have been to different places around the
world where it is acceptable for a Christian to drink wine, but not coffee.

Some church denominations are opposed
to dancing, but when the Spirit of God blesses them, they believe dancing is
fine. There are many ethnic groups who have had dance as a part of their
culture for centuries. What about social dancing? Is it acceptable to
participate in ballroom dancing? The Bible says nothing about social dancing.

The observance of certain holidays,
such as Christmas, Easter, or Halloween is highly offensive to some people.
Some people have problems with bringing a Christmas tree into their home,
believing it is associated with something evil. Many Christians want to know
about Easter eggs because they have to do with fertility rites. Should we allow
our children to paint and hunt for Easter eggs? The point is, God made trees
and God made eggs. The vast majority of people are not worshipping the tree or
the egg, which is why the Bible calls all these things, doubtful things.

The Bible doesn’t talk about these
specific things because God trusts you.

Psalm 1:1-3:

How blessed is the man who does not
walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in
the seat of scoffers!

But his delight is in the law of the
Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.

And he will be like a tree firmly
planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf
does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers.

Notice the last thing this says:
whatever I do will prosper! If you meet the qualifications in verses one and
two, God simply says, “I trust you.”

II. Being Fully Persuaded

We pray to God about television,
movies, and all those other things Christians make such a big deal of, and we
can’t understand why God doesn’t say anything. It is because He has no answer.
Think about that. There are times God has no answer because there’s no real
question. If God could get through to you, He’d say, “You know what? I haven’t
really been thinking about that today. I’ve been thinking about the lost in your
city. I’ve been thinking about the people who need to be ministered to, and I
really haven’t given a television set much thought today. In fact, I’m going to
tell you to make up your own mind. I’ll just stand behind whatever you decide.”

We often want God to verify everything
we do, and Scripture does say in everything by prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. On the other hand, there
are certain things God considers to be doubtful areas, or gray areas of Christianity.
Those areas in which you are fully persuaded of He will stand behind you in.

Romans 14:14:

I know, and am persuaded by the Lord
Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him that esteems any
thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean.

This is referring to doubtful things,
not to those things identified in the Bible as sin. If a person says, “I just
think God says whatever I want to do about adultery is fine.” No, God has
something to say about adultery. He has something to say about lying and
stealing. There are certain sins specifically laid out in the Word of God.

Proverbs 6:1-4:

These six things doth the Lord hate:
yea, seven are an abomination unto him:

A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands
that shed innocent blood,

A heart that deviseth wicked
imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,

A false witness that speaketh lies, and
he that soweth discord among brethren.

These are things the Bible specifically
says are sin. Galatians 5:19-21 talks about the manifestation of the works of
the flesh. In chapters five, six, and seven of Matthew, there are lists of sins
mentioned. But sometimes situations arise in modern-day society about which
people don’t know what type of scriptural standpoint to take.

Romans 14:20, 22:

For meat destroys not the work of God.
All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for the man who eats with offense.

Do you have faith? Have it to yourself
before God. Happy is he that condemns not himself in that thing which he
allows.

We are not to argue about doubtful
things, but to receive each other in love and realize there is something bigger
than what we argue about most in the Christian life.

Satan tries to divert our attention
away from the real mission God has given us by bringing up things the Bible doesn’t
say anything about. It all comes back to the Great Commission. He has called us
to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, lay hands on
the sick, see them recover, see them get filled with the Holy Spirit, cast out
devils, and make disciples of believers. The Bible doesn’t say much about many
of the things we bring up today — those things which preoccupy church
denominations and our thoughts, causing us to put aside the very thing God has
called us to do.

III. Conviction of the Holy Spirit

John 16:8:

And when he is come, he will reprove
the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.

Of sin, because they believe not on me.

He will reprove the world of “sin,” not
“sins.” It is singular. There is a sin the Holy Spirit reproves or convicts of
and it is “they believe not on Me.”

There is only one sin the Holy Spirit
convicts of: rejection of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. You may say, “What
about all those things I feel convicted about in my own personal life?” It is
your heart that condemns you. It is your heart that convicts you in those
areas. The Holy Spirit can deal with you about areas of your life, but when it
comes to actual conviction, the Holy Spirit deals with you about Jesus Christ.

IV. Conviction of Your Heart

1 John 3:21:

Beloved, if our heart condemn us not,
then have we confidence toward God.”

There are times when one person’s heart
may condemn them for a particular thing and another person’s heart does not
condemn them for that. Our heart convicts us in line with what we have been
taught. Some people have come from backgrounds where they were taught it was
sinfully wrong to see a movie and when they get near a movie theater, they go
crazy. Their heart condemns them. Yet, another Christian walks by a theater and
says, “Hmmm, I wonder what’s showing.”

One person feels condemned, another
does not. The person who feels condemned often turns to the other and says,
“It’s the Holy Spirit that convicts me.” However, the Bible clearly says the
Holy Spirit was sent to convict the world of their need of Jesus Christ. In
regards to our own personal convictions, we must feed and teach our heart the
Word of God. We must teach the Word of God to our children so they can be
convicted in line with the Word. Regarding all these doubtful things, God says,
“Make up your own mind. I will stand behind you. I want everyone fully
persuaded in his own mind.”

The Law of Love: toward other believers

The Law of Expediency: toward unbelievers

The Law of Sacrifice: toward God

WALK IN LOVE

WALK IN AUTHORITY

The Greek word for “authority” is the
word “exousia”. It is different from the word “power”, which is the Greek word
“dunamis”. The word “power” is what God creates and it comes from heaven.
Exousia or authority, is the delegation of power through us. It comes through a
representative. For example, behind every police officer is the power of the
local government. Behind the power of the local government is the state government.
Behind the power of the state government is the federal government. Power must
be delegated through authority.

Not all police officers have the same
stature, the same strength, or the same demeanor that might cause others to
fear them. But when a person stands before an officer wearing a uniform and
badge, size and weight are insignificant. What is important is not the power in
you, but the power of those you represent. When the centurion sent the Jewish
elders and then the others to meet Jesus in his stead, when they spoke, it was
as if the centurion were present and speaking. They were backed by the
authority of the centurion, who was backed by the Roman government, which was
backed by Caesar himself.

The centurion had a clear understanding
of authority and recognized that although Jesus walked in an authority of a
different origin than his own, it was still authority. The centurion walked in
human authority but Jesus walked in spiritual authority. Over and over again
Jesus said, “I didn’t come to do My works. I came to do the works of Him that
sent Me. I didn’t come to speak My own words, I came to speak the words of Him
that sent Me. The miracles that I do, it’s not Me, it’s Him that sent Me. I
have come in My Father’s name.”

The centurion said, “I am a man under
authority, having soldiers under me.” Authority never sits on top; there is
always a higher authority, with the exception of God. In essence, the centurion
was saying, “Jesus, I recognize that when You speak, there is an authority
behind you. The Word of God, the angels, and all of the power of God are behind
You. I sent out representatives to You and God has sent You as His
representative. I have to be obedient to those who are in authority over me,
and those in authority under me, must be obedient to me. I understand there is
Someone above You Who has given You authority and when You speak, sickness must
obey; it must become Your servant and go in the name of Jesus.”